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Quick, talk me out of it!
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So, I’m considering starting Classical Conversations in the fall. I’d keep our math program. I’d keep doing SCM’s history guides/spelling wisdom and their many other resources I’ve accumulated, but I’d be jumping ship on CM’s grammar advice. I do not think that my children will be miserable doing CC (I have girls that don’t mind memorizing and such) – in fact, I think that they’ll still enjoy school and have lots of time for living books and lots of downtime and outdoor time.
Are there some good reasons I shouldn’t do it?
My reasons for doing it, are primarily for the accountability, but also adding a bit more structure (kind of the same thing).
Advice????
Well…we just finished our first year of CC with my 11yr old son. We did the Foundations Year 1 program and, for us, it was an “extra”. At home we did all our subjects independently, not using the CC material. Anything he memorized at CC was bonus. I would sometimes have him review one CC topic for 15 min 2-3 times/week but wasn’t concerned that he had it down cold. For us it was about being with other kids (he is an only) and having fun and learning at the same time. We will do Foundations Yr 2 next year and possibly Yr 3. Doubt we will continue onto the Challenge programs, but who knows. Memorizing doesn’t hurt anyone, unless your child feels pressured and the parent is expecting too much. I wanted my son to practice each week and be “spot on” the following week and then I realized it was my goal and not his. He was just having fun and learning as he went and that became OK with me. So, if you can afford it, it is a nice program and Mom gets to network and fellowship too. Sounds like your girls would have a great time. Tomorrow is our End of Year Celebration and the kids are all reciting all the Presidents together and each class is doing a quick skit of one of the history sentences they memorized. My son is excited to be able to have a “thing” for his Grandparents to attend.
So…not talking you out of it…sorry. 🙂
We do a memory program similar to CC. The main thing that kept me away from CC from the beginning was the cost.
So…I love our memory co-op. I think it’s nice to have some basics memorized in addition to all the CM-style work we do at home.
I don’t have any personal experience with CC. I think depending on your reasons for doing it, if you took a casual approach like the ladies here seem to that it could not be a bad thing.
But what I really wanted to say is that I had a kind of aha moment re classical ed recently. I have in the past felt kind of intiidated by it because even though I am committed to CM education, it seems like those classical people cover so much ground, it always makes me feel like we aren’t doing enough. But then I read something CM wrote (I think it was in her 5th volume) where she said that when we memorize we don’t form relationships with the material. So even though classical people may see their kids take in a lot of info, we have to remember that that is not our main goal. Our goal is for our children to form lots of relationships with the books, art, music, etc they are exposed to. I don’t think knowing facts is bad but it is not what we are aiming for.
Nebby
Actually those conventions confirm why I love CM. I haven’t been to one in years but when I would go, I would just find myself at Jan Bloom’s booth or another used living books seller. I don’t like shiny baubles so am really put off by much of what is there. I always think, how many real books could I buy for what this costs? And how much more will this feed us with living ideas. Now I have nearly 16,000 of those real books and almost none of the other. Only buy what will truly feed your children’s minds and souls.
Oh my goodness, this post was supposed to go somewhere else! (How do I insert major eye roll here) but, on the other hand, I kind of feel the same about CC so I’ll leave it… 🙂
I’ve been doing some research into CC lately since a friend of mine is starting a new group nearby. My take on it is this: if I only had my two youngest children, ages 8 and 9, I might try it for a few years. It sounds like fun, my littles enjoy memorizing chants and songs and I like the variety that CC offers. No, it isn’t very CM, but few of us follow any one educational philosophy to the letter and I can live with that.
A few reasons why we will not be doing it: I like what we’re doing at home and I like planning my own curriculum. In the earlier levels, CC seems to be a supplement or an enrichment to what is done at home, however I’ll have two in the Challenge level next year and at that point CC seems to take over the entire curriculum if it is to be done well. Then there is the time commitment — ond day a week is a lot to give over to something if it isn’t going to benefit the whole family. And then there is the cost. Just not sure that is where I want to be investing our educational dollars.
My .02.
I did a classical co-op similar to CC for one year. It was a good experience overall, but I would just make sure you’re willing to give up one morning a week. Losing one day a week is a lot. Without a co-op, we can plan Fridays as a lighter day, and if we have work to make up from a sick day/fieldtrip we can do it a lot easier. When we left, it was freeing to not have that day spoken for and to have our schedule our own again. A main reason we left was because the following year we were going to have to change things in our curriculum to stay w/it and I wasn’t willing to do that. I just can’t do morning co-ops with older kids now, unless the co-op would take things off my plate:) But I have a friend who loves her CC-style co-op. And if this was the main way I could have homeschool relationships, I would probably try to make it work. Blessings, Gina
I have considered it, as well. We actually use some of their memory work resources at home…but two things have kept me from doing the group. First, if I paid for the classes, it would preclude SOOO many other books and resources because of the cost ($450 per child/ per year = $2250).
Second, for that kind of money I know that I would be expecting a lot of instruction and learning to go on, and the CC groups we visited, while fun and worthwhile, weren’t educational enough for us to spend that kind of money. They weren’t doing anything educationally that I couldn’t do at home with the kids.
We have found that doing classes with our co-op meets our need for socialization and education one day per week, at a tenth of the cost. And that allows us to do so many more things that we want to do in our homeschool.
CC is a good program, don’t get me wrong! If I only had a couple of children (or an unlimited budget!) I might be more tempted to seriously consider it.
Oh – just read Nebby’s comment and I can so relate. My best friend was a director for CC, so I went to a lot of their workshops, classes, etc…and they do cover a lot of material! It made me feel very intimidated and I was comparing my kids ‘knowledge’ to the CC kids.
That summer we went to Washington, DC, and I had one of those great homeschooling moments. When we were walking through the National Gallery, my daughter was able to identify many artists and works of art, but more importantly (to me, anyway) she was able to identify the ‘stories’ the artists were trying to convey! She wasn’t showing off – it was just a part of her. She has read so much, that she could look at a work of art and understand what the artist was telling us about.
I didn’t teach her all this! I never could! I just provided her with good habits and materials, and out of that she gleaned a true education.
That is something that I think Classical education can miss. The facts are there, but it is up to the parent or educator to provide connections between important people and other important people, ways of thinking, stories, ideas, etc… the ‘science of relations’ as Charlotte put it. Charlotte’s system was much more direct.
They are not buckets to be filled with facts. Facts have a place, and they can be useful. But an educational diet made up of dry, hard facts does go against what Charlotte advocated.
So, if you choose CC, just be sure that the rest of your week is spent in living books and putting them in touch with great ideas and great minds ;0).
We’re used to being out of the house one day for a co-op and that’s kind of why this was appealing to me, because the co-op we’re doing is kind of hit or miss with the quantity and quality of information the kids get.
I’m thinking mostly of putting my 4th grader in Essentials for the writing instruction and math memorization (they memorize math facts through 15 and also square roots and squares and cubes – and for my dd who struggles with math, I thought it might be helpful for her to memorize these things in a fun manner as opposed to just constant drill.)
Thanks so much for all the advice! I’m feeling like I won’t worry about having my younger ones do the foundation program, instead keeping things they way they are and just putting the oldest one in for Essentials in the afternoon.
What a timely post! To join or not to join a local CC group has been heavy on my mind this year. I have friends who have joined CC this year, and met a couple of other families who also participate. I was so in the comparison trap.
I have been reluctant to join CC because I felt the volume of material was too great and the depth of knowledge too shallow. But, then to hear these moms talk about how great it is, and how much information dd or ds can recite…it is so intimidating. It has made me feel that what we are doing is so inadequate. Thank you Nebby for reminding me of Charlotte’s thoughts about memorization, and our true goal with CM, relationships with the material, not just rote memorization.
It is very encouraging to hear your story ServingWithJoy. I have renewed faith that we are indeed on the right path for us.
Blessings, Paula
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